Iran mark 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran

State-organised rallies were held across Iran on Sunday to mark the 1979 takeover of the United States embassy in Tehran.

In the capital, thousands chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel” at the gate of the former embassy which has not been used since the hostage crisis.

Some carried images of top figures of Iran’s allied militant groups killed by Israel, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Forty-five years ago, radical students stormed the embassy soon after the fall of the US-back Shah of Iran, the country’s last monarch.

They held over 50 diplomats hostage for 444 days, a crisis that cemented the decades-long enmity between Tehran and Washington.

The commemoration comes a day after Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, threatened the US and Israel with a “crushing response” following an Israeli attack targeting military bases and other locations in Iran.

His speech to students in Tehran came as officials increasingly threaten another strike against Israel following its 26 October attack.

The United States on Friday announced the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East, as a warning to Tehran.

There are fears that further attacks from either side could engulf the wider Middle East into a regional conflict.